Shesmu already knew about the contract, and the extreme penalties one receives when breaking it. However, he did it anyway. The reason for this decision was not only emotional but also rational. Armina being able to break out of the encirclement of multiple royal guards might not seem like anything to a new player, however, Shesmu knew how ferocious royal guards were. Taking, for example, the royal guards for the Pliyx Stal Kingdom, they were all at around Tier 3 to Tier 4 class holders, this is especially so for the guards stationed inside the palace. Being able to break from that encirclement meant that Armina was at least a Tier 4 rare class holder, maybe even epic. Gaining the favor of such a supreme character this early in the game will give Shesmu a trump card that he can use when he is cornered, because as strong as he might be compared to the current players, even a boss would succumb to the might of the many.

Armina was surprised at Shesmu’s declaration. She already saw the system notification showing that the heavens bore witness to the oath.

“Do you know the level of power going after my life? It’s not something you can imagine even if you wanted to. Any royal guard could crush you under their feet before you can understand what happened…”

Shesmu already knew these facts, but he was still sure that he will not break his promise. As long as Armina returns to her full power, no one person can kill her if she tries to escape. At least, no such person exists in Pliyx Stal and Estrya. Moreover, she is supposed to be dead in her uncle’s mind, so even if there were spies in Stal capital city that would recognize her, there can’t be any organized force that can deal with her anywhere in the area. Worst come to worst, if they are discovered, it would take her uncle couple months before organizing a trap to kill her in foreign territories. Shesmu was sure that by the time they are in real danger, he would already be strong enough to hold his ground against Tier 3 class and Tier 4 class holders, especially after the release of epic and legendary quests.

“I have an 80% confidence in this promise. I am sure that given 8 months, I can reach Tier 4 in at least an epic rarity class.”

In fact, Shesmu was confident that he can reach Tier 4 in a legendary rarity class, but these were so rare that if he were to mention it, he would be seen as nothing more than a lunatic.

Armina was silent for a moment before saying.

“Hmm, okay, I believe in you.”

In reality, Armina thought of what Shesmu said as nothing more than a pipe dream. However, even when all is said and done, he is still her savior, so she needs to give him some face.

Before walking out of the room, Shesmu asked.

“Just a question, but how long do you think it would take you to recover?”

Hearing his question, Armina seemed troubled for a moment before replying.

“At this moment, my power is barely comparable to a Tier 1. Given a week I should reach the level of a Tier 3. However, to go back to the Tier 4 status I reached before, I need more than just rest. Some of my internal injuries have not been healed, and as such, I cannot use my full power without risking lethal injuries.”

Hearing her response, Shesmu was delighted. For a player to reach Tier 3 in their class, they need first to reach level 120. So, what Armina said essentially was that Shesmu would gain a level 120 ally in a week; and not only a normal Tier 3 class holder, but a Tier 3 epic class holder which was dozens of times stronger than the former.

“Okay, you can take your time and rest. I will ask the servants to just knock on the door and put your meals next to it so that your identity is not divulged.”

Armina nodded at Shesmu’s statement, as the latter walked out of the room. He then went to the receptionist, gave her a couple instructions and paid for Armina’s meals and stay.

Finally able to focus on questing and leveling up, Shesmu headed straight to the blacksmith. On the way, Shesmu found many players running around town. In fact, there were so many that sometimes he found long lines of players waiting for their turn to accept repeatable quests. He checked his real-life clock on the menu to find that it was already 14.20. Without knowing, Shesmu had used close to 3 hours on this epic quest alone.

However, Shesmu didn’t feel that it was a waste in any sense of the word. While normal players were waiting for their turn in front of the biggest blacksmith/tailor/armorsmith shops to accept repeatable quests, he would be doing quests for the less known shops that give hidden quests after finishing their normal ones.

In less than ten minutes, Shesmu arrived at a small blacksmith shop called Gregory Shop. The blacksmith working there was called James Gregory and the normal quest he gave was pretty decent, albeit a little bit worse than the ones given in high-end shops.

After talking with him for a moment, Shesmu accepted his quest.

Kill the wolves Description Kill 20 wolves and bring back their fangs. Reward Wolf Sword (Silver)

2 silver

1500 experience.

Like in the beta, Shesmu went around town picking up normal combat quests. Same as before, he needed to kill foxes, deer, boars, and wolves. After accepting these quest, he headed to the monster area.

Deciding to start with the weakest ones, Shesmu went to the level 5 area where he found a couple of fox packs. Not wanting to waste time, Shesmu dashed in front of them to hold their aggro and dived straight into the forest, everytime he found a pack of foxes, he would agro it. After he aggroed around 30 foxes, Shesmu finally turned around to face his enemies. The foxes encircled him and left him no path for retreat, however, Shesmu only chuckled at the irony of the situation and then took a combat stance.

Thinking of him as a dead meat, the foxes pounced on him from all directions. At this sight, Shesmu glanced at his Ki bar, before a green aura surrounded his trash gray level 0 sword. If someone saw Shesmu at this point, they wouldn’t think that he was wielding the beginner sword that everyone held in contempt, but a legendary one holding many secrets and opportunities. In less than 0.5 seconds, Shesmu slashed dozens of times, each slash holding a distinct meaning and trajectory. Waves of green sword slashes spread outwards killing everything in sight and leaving behind a scene describing desolation and wildness.

After a moment, multiple golden flashes surrounded Shesmu signifying that he leveled up. From this fight alone, he leveled up 3 times and made good progress to reach level 5.

“Congratulation for creating an original skill. Please choose a name for it.”

Shesmu thought for a bit but decided to just name this skill something simple.

“Thousand Slashes.”

“Congratulation, due to creating a rare original skill, you have been awarded 5 stat points and 10 intermediate healing potions.”

After receiving these rewards, Shesmu looked at his stats page and added the stat points he gained.

Name Shesmu Race Human Class Swordsman Level 4 (600/3000 exp) Health Points 1280/1280 Ki Points 4000/4750 Stats Strength 100 Agility 117 Intelligence 30 Wisdom 29 Vitality 97 Stat Points 0 Skills Sword Mastery Tier 0 level 1 (Proficiency: 50%). Thousand Slashes Tier 0 level 1(Proficiency:50%) Talents Quick Slash Increase attack speed by 20%. Afterimage When in combat, sudden turns leave afterimages, rendering the enemy not being able to know real from illusion. Movement speed outside of combat +50%, Movement speed in combat +20%, attack speed +30%. Strong Grip Increase attack power by 20% Titan’s Might Increase attack power by 30%. Have a chance to knock back an opponent with less attack power. Tough Skin Increase hp by 20%